Slack drivers feel the lash

Nearly three-quarters of cars have ineffective head restraints, placing occupants at risk of debilitating "whiplash" injuries in rear-end collisions – and the majority of drivers add to the risk by failing to adjust seats or head restraints.

31 October 2002Hilton Holloway

A new laboratory test on about 400 models found only 28 percent had head restraints with "good geometry" to keep occupants' heads and necks from extending too far.

Britain's Thatcham Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre also found that a massive 72 percent of drivers either did not adjust their head restraints properly or were driving cars whose seats would not adjust in the right way.

Thatcham, an insurance industry adviser, set up the New Car Whiplash Ratings (NCWR) survey, which is claimed as a first in independent assessments.

It is researching ways of cutting Britain's annual whiplash bill, which is estimated to cost insurers the equivalent of $12.6 billion or about 80 percent of personal injury payouts from vehicle accident claims.

The term describes the reaction to a rear impact, in which the body is propelled forward and the head remains in place -- or, relative to the head, "whips" backwards in what is known as extension and over-extension.

In Australia, insurer IAG reckons the proportion of payouts attributable to whiplash is closer to 40 percent. Women account for about 60 percent of whiplash claims.

Twelve months ago, the NRMA urged car makers to improve the design of head restraints. A study of 70 popular vehicles had revealed about 50 percent of new models' head restraints gave only marginal or poor protection against neck injuries.

The British study found that drivers of Volkswagen-Audi Group cars run a greater risk of whiplash injuries than the owners of most other brands. It rated 10 of the 13 VW models assessed (most of them not sold in Australia) as either "poor" or "marginal" in their capacity to prevent whiplash.

Audi's older A3 and A6 models fared badly in the ratings but its new A4 was rated among the best.

In contrast, in IAG's local tests, the VW Polo was rated "good" in the small class.

Joining some of the VW product at the bottom of the British testing scale were the new Citroen C3 supermini, Land-Rover's base Freelander and ageing Defender and a Rover minicar.

Thatcham cited Saab's 9-3 as the one to beat, thanks to a new seat design. Volvo's entire range took top marks, as did BMW's 3 Series range, the Ford Focus and Mondeo, all of the Lexus line-up and every Renault, apart from one Laguna variant.

Other brands to score well include Subaru, Toyota and Vauxhall (some of whose models are sold in Australia as Holdens).

Given the huge insurance payouts, anti-whiplash design is becoming increasingly important to car makers, who in recent years have begun fitting head restraints on all seats, even the centre rear position, to stop occupants' heads whipping too far back.

So-called "active" headrests, used by Saab, Volvo and Vauxhall among others, are mechanically activated. When the occupant is pushed into the seat back, the head restraint is pushed forward -- which means the restraint stays close to the back of the passenger's head.

Thatcham's test regime looked for head restraints that could be positioned "as high as the top of the head and as close to the back of the head as possible -- touching is best".

Thatcham says neck pain following a car crash, most often from a rear-end impact, is often classified as a minor injury. However, it says, whiplash can "lead to long, painful and debilitating symptoms for many years".

"Mild symptoms can include stiffness and tenderness of muscles in the upper back and neck, headaches and dizziness. More serious long-term cases can involve permanent impairment, involving neurological and musculoskeletal injuries."

According to Thatcham, most cases clear up within a few days or weeks. After a year, 10 percent of victims report symptoms remain and 5 percent have "reduced functional capacity or related disability". One victim in 100 has a permanent disability.

Thatcham says that until recently it was thought that muscular overextension during the "whipping" phase was the cause of the injury. However, the latest research is looking at the possibility of spinal cord damage caused at the instant of impact. Before buying a new car, Thatcham recommends motorists should check whether the head restraint is lockable, has good geometry even when in the down, unadjusted position and has been designed and tested with the new generation of more life-like crash test dummies.

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